Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

After a two-week thrash, our 1963 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Spyder project car was finished in time to take the scenic drive up to the Amelia Island Concours. Our buddy, Tim McNair of Grand Prix Detailing, came down a couple of days early to detail our ‘63 Spyder. After a five-month restoration, it looks perfect.

Unfortunately, the one thing we didn’t rebuild was the transaxle. The engine had been rebuilt before we bought the car, and it drove and shifted perfectly. We thought we could wait a while before we dove into this complex piece of machinery.

We were wrong. Just half an hour from our home base, we began to smell and hear transaxle problems. We immediately turned around and headed for home.

We’ll be tearing into that area of the car later this week, but we suspect transaxle bearing or clutch problems. Such is life with old cars: With every success comes a failure or two. Don’t worry, we aren’t disheartened—much. We’ll get it figured out and get this beauty into the pages of Classic Motorsports by year’s end.